Campaign Contributions From Political Action Committees to Members of Congressional Committees Responding to the Opioid Crisis

Abstract

This study examines recent campaign contributions to members of US congressional committees responsible for legislating on the opioid crisis by political action committees (PACs) associated with firms under investigation for having contributed to the crisis.

Federal lawmakers have recently taken steps to ensure that the policy response to the opioid crisis is not influenced by advocacy groups with financial ties to the opioid industry.^1,2 However, whether members of Congress might have relevant conflicts of interest stemming from financial ties to the opioid industry is unknown. Although advocacy groups can influence policy only indirectly, members of Congress oversee federal agencies and are directly responsible for crafting legislation to address the opioid crisis. In particular, members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee and the House Energy and Commerce Committee have led the Senate and House responses to the crisis.

To assess financial ties between the opioid industry and federal lawmakers with the greatest responsibility for addressing the opioid crisis, we examined campaign contributions to members of the Senate HELP and House Energy and Commerce committees by political action committees (PACs) associated with firms being investigated by state and federal officials for having contributed to the crisis. Although many firms have financial interests related to opioids, the focus was on these firms because they have a clear financial stake in opioid policy development.

Methods

We identified firms that have been the target of federal or state lawsuits for engaging in business practices that contributed to the opioid crisis or named in a Senate report as funders of advocacy organizations that contributed to the crisis.^2,3,4,5 PACs sponsored by firms of interest or their subsidiaries, their parent companies, or employees were identified by searching for firms named in the US Federal Election Commission (FEC) campaign finance PAC database. Using campaign contribution data and PAC data collected by the FEC and aggregated by the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research group that monitors the flow of money to candidates for political office, we identified contributions made by identified PACs to current members of the Senate HELP Committee and the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Lists of committee members were obtained from the official websites of both committees and were current as of July 9, 2018. We focused our analysis on contributions made during the most recently completed 2-year election cycle, ending in November 2016.

Results

We included 4 firms that distribute opioids—AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health, McKesson, and Miami-Luken—and 9 firms that manufacture and market opioids—Allergan, Depomed, Endo Health Solutions, Insys, Johnson & Johnson (through subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals), Mylan, Mallinckrodt, Purdue Pharma, and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (through subsidiaries Actavis and Cephalon). Ten of 13 firms were associated with a total of 12 PACs that made campaign contributions to members of the congressional committees of interest (listed in a Table 1 footnote). No contributions were found from PACs associated with Miami-Luken, Depomed, or Insys.

Table 1. Campaign Contributions to Members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee During the 2016 Election Cycle^a.

Member	Contribution Amount, $
	Amerisource	Cardinal	McKessonb	Allerganb	Endo	Johnson & Johnson	Mallinckrodt	Mylan	Purdue	Teva	Total
Frank Pallone Jr (D, NJ)	10 000	10 000	10 000		2000	10 000	2000	2500		10 000	56 500
John M. Shimkus (R, IL)	9500	4500	10 000	6000	2000	8500	10 000	1000		5000	56 500
Ryan Costello (R, PA)	8000	2000	10 000		10 000	5000		2500		7500	45 000
Fred Upton (R, MI)	10 000	2500	9350		7500	5000		2500		2500	39 350
Diana DeGette (D, CO)	7500	5000	10 000			9000		1000		5000	37 500
Brett Guthrie (R, KY)	10 000	5000	10 000			4500	1500			6000	37 000
Michael Burgess (R, TX)	6000	2500	10 000	5000		3000			1000		27 500
Marsha Blackburn (R, TN)	2000	7500	10 000			4500		1000		2000	27 000
Susan Brooks (R, IN)	2500	7000	10 000		2500	4000		1000			27 000
Gene Green (D, TX)	3500	2500	10 000			7500	1000			2500	27 000
Joe Kennedy III (D, MA)	6000		10 000			9000				2000	27 000
Gus Bilirakis (R, FL)	4500		10 000			3500			1000	7500	26 500
Leonard Lance (R, NJ)			5000	10 000	1000	8500					24 500
Robert E. Latta (R)	3000	10 000	10 000		500				1000		24 500
Greg Walden (R, OR)c	2500	2500	10 000			7000		1500			23 500
Doris O. Matsui (D, CA)	10 000	2500	5000			3000	1000			1500	23 000
Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R, WA)	9000	5000	5000			4000					23 000
Anna Eshoo (D, CA)		4500	10 000			8000					22 500
Steve Scalise (R, LA)		10 000	10 000							1000	21 000
Buddy Carter (R, GA)	8000	2500	10 000								20 500
David McKinley (R, WV)		7500	5000			1000		7000			20 500
Bill Flores (R, TX)			5000	15 000							20 000
Mimi Walters (R, CA)	500		5000	8500	2500	2000	1000				19 500
Scott Peters (D, CA)	2750		10 000			5500		1000			19 250
Chris Collins (R, NY)	2500	3000	7000			6000					18 500
Peter Welch (D, VT)	7000	2500	5000					3000		1000	18 500
G. K. Butterfield (D, NC)		4000	7500			2000			1000	2500	17 000
Billy Long (R, MO)	5000		6000							5000	16 000
Bill Johnson (R, OH)		4500	7000			3500					15 000
Ben R. Lujan (D, NM)	4500					7500				2500	14 500
Tony Cardenas (D, CA)	1500	3000	5000		1000	2500				1000	14 000
Morgan Griffith (R, VA)	2000	2000	2500							7500	14 000
Kurt Schrader (D, OR)			10 000			1000					11 000
Paul Tonko (D, NY)	3500		7500								11 000
Larry Bucshon (R, IN)			7500			1000		1000			9500
Raul Ruiz (D, CA)	3250					5000		1000			9250
Adam Kinzinger (R, IL)			9000								9000
Pete Olson (R, TX)	2500		2000		1000	2000		1000			8500
Markwayne Mullin (R, OK)	2000		1000							5000	8000
Joe Barton (R, TX)			7500								7500
Mike Doyle (D, PA)	1000		2500		2500						6000
Debbie Dingell (D, MI)	2500					2500					5000
Richard Hudson (R, NC)			2500			2000					4500
Jerry McNerney (D, CA)			2500								2500
Yvette D. Clarke (D, NY)						2000					2000
David Loebsack (D, IA)	2000										2000
Kevin Cramer (R, ND)					500				1000		1500
Eliot L. Engel (D, NY)										1000	1000
Gregg Harper (R, MS)						1000					1000
Totald	154 500	112 000	301 350	44 500	33 000	150 500	16 500	27 000	5000	78 000	922 350

^aSource: Center for Responsive Politics, Open Secrets (https://www.opensecrets.org/open-data). Members who did not receive payments: Kathy Castor (D, MI), Jeff Duncan (D, SC), Bobby Rush (D, IL), John Sarbanes (D, MD), Janice Schakowsky (D, IL), Tim Walberg (R, MI). Political action committees (PACs) associated with firms of interest: AmerisourceBergen Corporation PAC; Cardinal Health Inc PAC aka Cardinal Health Companies PAC; McKesson Corporation Employees Political Fund; US Oncology Inc Network PAC; Allergan Inc PAC; Allergan Inc PAC for Employees; Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc PAC; Johnson & Johnson PAC; Mallinckrodt LLC PAC; Mylan Inc PAC; Purdue Pharma Inc PAC; Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc PAC. Included were 2 employee-funded PACs because there is evidence that corporate interests also drive employee PACs.⁶

^bAssociated with 2 PACs.

^cCommittee chair.

^dMean contribution, $18 823; median, $18 500 (range, $1000-$56 500).

In the House Energy and Commerce Committee, 49 (89.1%) of 55 members received a campaign contribution from 1 or more of the PACs (Table 1). Among members who received contributions, the median amount received from all PACs was $18 500; the minimum amount received by any member was $1000; the maximum amount was $56 500. In the Senate HELP Committee, 15 (65.2%) of 23 members received a contribution from 1 or more of the PACs (Table 2). Among members who received contributions, the median amount received from all PACs was $18 500; the minimum amount received by any member was $1500; the maximum amount was $48 500.

Table 2. Campaign Contributions to Members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee During the 2016 Election Cycle^a.

Member	Contribution Amount, $
	Amerisource	Cardinal	McKessonb	Allerganb	Endo	Johnson & Johnson	Mallinckrodt	Mylan	Purdue	Teva	Total
Richard Burr (R, NC)c	6500	7500	5000	2500	1000	9000	3500	2500	10 000	1000	48 500
Patty Murray (D, WA)c	6000	10 000	10 000	3500		5500		1000		5000	41 000
Tim Scott (R, SC)c	10 000	5000	7000			7000	2500	1000	1000	2500	36 000
Orrin G. Hatch (R, UT)	8000	5000	7500	5000	2000	1000					28 500
Bob Casey (D, PA)	8750	2500				3500				10 000	24 750
Johnny Isakson (R, GA)c	2000		6000	1000		8000	2000	2000			21 000
Michael F. Bennet (D, CO)c		5000	7500			5000		1000		1000	19 500
Bill Cassidy (R, LA)	3500		5000	10 000							18 500
Todd Young (R, IN)c	6000		5000			1000					12 000
Lamar Alexander (R, TN)d	1000	10 000									11 000
Tim Kaine (D, VA)	3500	2500				2500					8500
Pat Roberts (R, KS)	5000			2500							7500
Lisa Murkowski (R, AK)c	1000		2000			2000					5000
Mike Enzi (R, WY)				3000							3000
Tammy Baldwin (D, WI)							1500				1500
Totale	61 250	47 500	55 000	27 500	3000	44 500	9500	7500	11 000	19 500	286 250

^aMembers who did not receive payments: Susan Collins (R, ME), Maggie Hassan (D, NH; up for election in the 2016 cycle), Doug Jones (D, AL), Christopher Murphy (D, CT), Rand Paul (R, KY; up for election in the 2016 cycle), Bernie Sanders (D, VT), Tina Smith (D, MN), Elizabeth Warren (D, MA). See Table 1 footnote for data source and political action committee details.

^bAssociated with 2 political action committees.

^cMembers up for election in the 2016 cycle.

^dCommittee chair.

^eMean contribution, $19 083; median, $18 500 (range, $1500-$48 500).

Discussion

During the 2016 election cycle, majorities of the Senate HELP Committee and the House Energy and Commerce Committee received campaign contributions from PACs associated with firms investigated for contributing to the opioid crisis. These donations are legal and may not have been related to the member’s position on the committees examined. Because the study was limited to a single election cycle and did not capture contributions from the full range of industry stakeholders and because individual (non-PAC) contributions and contributions made through super-PACs or other PACs were not included, these findings may be an underestimate of lawmakers’ financial ties to the opioid industry.

Section Editor: Jody W. Zylke, MD, Deputy Editor.